Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Encounters With The Hat Man

George was about 10 years old when a friend’s mother spoke of a vision she’d had. A man with a tall black hat and trench coat approached her in the darkness.

“She referred to him as ‘Death,’” George said. “That was his name for whatever he represented. It wasn’t good.”

The image that story implanted in George’s head manifested itself into his life a few years later.

“I had my own vision of this same man,” George said. “He was pure evil with a very cold deep look in his eyes. I had to rebuke him in the name of Jesus to go away. It was very frightening.”

But it wasn’t until George’s family moved from Alaska to Texas that he discovered he wasn’t the only member of his family who had seen this entity.

“Years later, my mom started to tell me of a vision that had woken her up in the middle of the night of a man standing at the foot of her bed,” he said. “I was in shock. It was so chilling we were talking about the same old man.”

But George had never told his mother of his encounter and he doesn’t want to have another one.

“I haven’t seen him since that one time in Alaska,” George said. “I wonder, what does it mean? Who is this man many people see? Whoever he is he is pure evil and nothing good. Maybe he’s a worker for Satan to test us.”

George and his mother had seen an entity many have dubbed The Hat Man. This being is generally a shadow-black, slightly out-of-proportion, sometimes two-dimensional entity that often wears a trench coat, cape, or long out-of-date suit, and can appear and vanish without a trace.

This usually-threatening entity has been labeled a ghost, a Shadow Person or a demon – such as this explanation from an anonymous reader of “From The Shadows.”

“The men of darkness – or men of old, or men of perdition – do not reveal themselves. They are revealed by another to warn those that they come to discourage of their presence,” Anonymous wrote. “They have no fear of men. They only fear the One that has the power to send them to the abyss before the time. They flee at the mention of the Name that is above all names.”

Denise lounged on the sofa in her grandmother’s house one day when she was 17 and saw something at the window.

“I didn’t care about that because I did think it was just an impression,” she said. But it wasn’t. “I got up and went to the kitchen to drink water and was coming back, and I had the clear impression of a man in the window with a very long hat and a long coat. It was possible even to see the contour of his face, but it was not a human face, (it was) a horrendous one with a bad smile.”

Then the image vanished quickly enough Denise doubted she had seen it – until she spoke with her grandmother and aunt who were chatting in the next room.

“I told my aunt what I saw, it was black, like a shadow, well-defined contours outside of the window,” she said. “It was like he was trying to hear something, you know?”

Both women looked at Denise, terror painting their faces.

“She asked me to describe it,” Denise said. “Both said to me they saw the very same thing.”

Delta Elise, now in her 50s, was 11 or 12 and living in Austin, Texas, when she met the Hat Man.

“I came home after being out running around in the neighborhood with my friends,” she said. “I went to bed very tired and since I was the oldest girl, I got the bigger side of the bedroom with my own bed which faced the window with the curtains.”

As she lie there, looking at the curtains, the curtains moved.

“The top right hand side of the curtains moved aside as if someone was moving it with their hand,” she said. “And then there appeared to me a very tall man in a long black cape or trench coat with what I call a witch’s hat with the top cut off just standing there. Even though his appearance was dark and I couldn’t really see any eyes, I knew it was staring right at me.”

Delta Elise pulled the covers over her eyes and eventually fell asleep, but woke up shaking in fear.

“The house we lived in was definitely haunted but this was the scariest part of living there,” she said. “I always see Shadow People. It never stops and I always feel a presence in my back seat. I also always feel something touching me or calling my name.”

Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt

Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”

Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.

The Hat Man sounds like a very scary shadow person. Personally I don't like them, they give me the creeps. I have seen what I think was a shadow person outside my house, a couple of times, but it moved to quickly for me to be sure. Interesting story.Julie

kinda funny, one day my hubby told me a about a Colombian 'saint' that appears in a shadow with a fadora(sp?)hat, and the myth was he showed up to watch over kids or something like that. Sounds kinda like hat man, lol.

I saw him 2 years ago, out of the corner of my eyes. He moved from one room of our house and went into a room we use as a spare room. We found out later that our cat had leukemia. Sometimes I think these entities are forerunners for disaster and death.

I never saw the Hatman, but last year there was a shadow person in my bedroom hiding behind the end of the bed - playing hide a seek with me. You can always tell when the shadow people are around. The feeling they bring with them is pure evil. Definitely different from a 'regular' ghost.

My retired mother and father moved to small town in western Montana, located in the Flathead Valley back in the early 1990's, that her father used to live in before he passed away.

My mother and father’s health was not real great at the time, as my father was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s and my mother had her own health issues (both have since passed away, my father in 1992 and my mother in 1996).

One night at around 3am, she awoke in the darkened living room where she had fallen asleep in the couch watching TV, having shut the TV off before falling asleep a few hours earlier.

She was startled and frightened when she awoke to see a man dressed in a black suit, wearing a black derby style hat, with no visible face standing next to the couch starring down at her.

Paralyzed in terror and disbelief, she gazed back thinking she was dreaming or imagining this figure. She said this went on for a minute or two before the figure eventually vanished.

I saw him when I was a little girl playing in my house. He was outside the door and he was looking in at me. He had a hat and dark glasses on. I started screaming and my parents ran in but he was gone.

I saw the hatman when I was a teenager in Michigan. It was just about dusk and he was walking across the yard to the side of our house. I thought it was a person at first so I yelled to get a response he just turn looked at me and vanished. The strange thing is that our dog at the time saw him too and started barking at him, this dog never barked at anyone. Never seen it again.

I saw this man. I was up late one night, when I heard what sounded like footsteps on the outside deck. I opened the curtains slightly to look, this was hard because I was terrified. What I saw was a tall man in large trench coat and hat standing on the neighbors roof. He was standing very tall, and his coat was flapping in the wind. He appeared to be staring back at me. I shut my eyes and opened them several time and he was still there. However, I ran and woke my sister to come and witness this man, but although I could clearly see him she could not.

Just curious what does "pure evil" feel like? When its happening to you do you stop to examine why you feel this being is evil? Is it a physical reaction? Is is a fear that arises from your stomach? Because that same feeling arises when one is in the gaze of a predator or in the flight response mode. I'm curious about this "evil feeling" response. Thanks, Pema

All of these sightings and things like this are demons. Whenever you see ANYTHING paranormal, or hear anything, just say; "I command you in the name of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost, to get out of here and never return. If they try to come back again say it another time and they'll be gone.

I live in a 3 year old house that is Haunted. Poltergeist type activity on a regular basis. One morning I woke up and when I went out to get in my van there was a message drawn in the dust ( I needed to wash the van) that said "Face the hat." I could never figure out what the joke was but after reading this story I got a little chill.

I'm 27 now. I had an experience with "The Hat Man" when I was 17. I have never seen him again. I heard a radio show recently that referred to "shadow people". It sounded ridiculous to me until someone described the "hat man". I instantly remembered my experience. I woke up one summer night when I was in high school. I used to sleep on my side. I rolled over to check the time on my alarm clock and there was a dark shadowy type figure of a man with a hat and an overcoat standing right beside my bed seemingly staring at me. He was completely black and I could not make out any details other than the outline of his body and what appeared to be clothing. The best I can describe him is simply as a silhouette...he was completely black. He did not move and I felt like he was looking at me. For some strange reason, I did not feel threatened at all. Perhaps it was because I thought I was dreaming. I can simply tell you that the presence did not threaten me one bit. I remember feeling completely indifferent about the whole situation...almost as though this was a normal occurrence!!! Again, this had never happened before so I don't know why it didn't scare me. Maybe since it was summer and my brain decided that no burglar would wear an overcoat and that type hat in hot weather therefore this must be a dream. Who knows! Anyway, I looked at my alarm clock, which read exactly 3:33 and I rolled back over and went to sleep. When I awoke the next morning I thought it was just a dream, albeit a very vivid one. I didn't think anything more of it until I sat down for breakfast and my mom asked me what I was doing up late last night. I told her I was asleep the whole night and didn't get out of my bed at all and she said, "Well you must have been sleep walking because I heard footsteps around 3:30 in your room (my room was upstairs, directly above my mother and father's room and my mom is a very light sleeper). At that point the light bulb went on and I realized that what I thought was just a "dream" may have very well been real. I told her what had happened and it freaked her out. Now, after hearing that discussion on the radio show, I am curious as to what it was. I googled "hat man shadow people" and this is one of the sights I founds so I thought I would share my story. The silhouette at the top of the page is very very close to what I recall seeing. I remember him being a large overbearing figure, but not threatening. It just seemed like a large man wearing a hat and overcoat, watching me sleep. Very odd. Interesting website, hope you people find some answers. I wouldn't be scared of this thing though. Since I turned over and went back to sleep after seeing him, I would say I was pretty damned vulnerable and he didn't harm me so I don't think there is anything to fear. Anyway, this is the only paranormal type event I have ever experienced and I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to this type stuff.

Saw him on several occasions when I was little but it was always just in the house I grew up in, in Ville Platte, LA. I never saw him anywhere else. Solid Black shadow white eyes, Had the same hat as the spy vs spy character. Thers gotta be something to this? right?

Very good analysis. What I saw 20 years ago was very similiar. The hat was more of a bowler but a bit taller, maybe a classic derby. The brim was bowler like. The room was completely black because I had the sliding glass door thickly blanketed to keep the cold out while I waited on the central heater to be repaired. There were red LED numbers glowing on the clock next to the bed. I went to sleep at 11:30 pm and work up in fear at 12:30 pm, something I never do. Standing/floating at the foot of my bed was a 6'2"+ outline like a caped man in a derby. Broad shoulders and no discernable neck. Arm like apendeges were probably there because the outline seemed to have a bit of seperation showing along the main trunk down where the hands would be, like the arms were tight against the body but the hands were not. But there was no outline of hands, just black stubs. Theighs down would have been to low to show over the end of the bed. It emitted red bands of light in all directions from it's outline. Otherwise it was completely black and featureless like a 2 diminsional surface. I assume it was drawing in the red light from the clock and re-emiting it. It emitted the bands throughout the room, not just the area around the clock which was aimed at the nearby wall. The bands were exactly that, bands or shafts starting at the outline and going out in every direction. Ready to die, I reached over and turned on the lamp and as quick as I did, the horses sleeping in a pasture 30 feet from the sliding glass door which was right behind the shadow reared and whinnied in terror and gallopped across the pasture. I also heard what sounded like a baby wail in persuit of the horses or from the same direction as the horses ran. (That wail was what has me confused as to what I had encountered.) With the light on, there was no sign of the shadow thing. Two days later I questioned my neighbors about if they heard the horses and I had to tell my story, on their insistence. Their jaws hung open and they told me their story. Their 2-3 year old son had been seeing the same thing in his room and had been insisting on sleeping in their room for a month. They had not seen the shadow themselves but went to their priest for help who gave them a vial of water from the baptismal font in their church. They walked through their house sprinkling the water the day I saw the shadow. They had started at one end of their house and sprinkled and prayed walking toward my house. I assume it chased the shadow into my house. I think it exited through the sliding glass door when I switched on the light and scared the heck out of those horses. They never slept in that spot again even though it was thei main nighttime spot. It was a very choice location with deep, soft St Augustine and a old, large pine tree to keep the night dew off of them. I slept with a night light on for the next few years. I don't ever want to see it again. I assume it was evil since it woke me in a fear state. I live in Texas.

The Hat man, is the vision of something gonna happen. The vision is almost about death. The Hat man occour in every country , at any civilisation, at any time beyonce time and place. The Hat man, is also, away to open minds.All this means, Theres more betwen `time and space , and so on.sorry about my spelling, i`m danish. best regards Spaceman_2

I experienced the same entity when I was 15. I had to cross a railroad bridge to get home. Half way across the bridge I turned around to see behind me. There came a "Hat Man", trench coat and all, moving quickly towards me. I very rapidly picked up my bike and ran to the other side of the bridge. In one motion, I hopped onto my bike and landed on the pedals to accelerate out of the area. Before I did leave I turned around to see the man but he was gone. He had vanished almost seemingly into thin air. There was no way for him to have passed me. Nor, could he have anywhere to hide. This happened in Keizer, Oregon, near the little league baseball fields.

I saw the "hat man" about 10 years ago. I was sleeping and woke up paralyzed. I could only move my eyes. He was standing at my bedroom door. He looked totally black and all I could see was the outline of his body. He reminded me of how the actor, Humphrey Bogart, used to dress in his old movies, wearing a trench coat and hat. I fell back to sleep. I had the overpowering need to go back to sleep even though I was terrified. Other scary things also happend in my home over the years. I found out that the 90 year old man who lived there before me committed suicide (or was possibly murdered) in the home. He was the only other owner of the home. My granddaughter refused to sleep in the room where he was found dead because she said she saw short white men -- and I do mean white -- as in the color of snow. My daughter would hear footsteps running across the attic or the roof. She even called the police, who found nothing, of course. The radio would turn on by itself and items would be moved from one location to another overnight while we were all sleeping. I finally sold the home and moved.

I'm not sure but I think I have had one encounter. I woke up with the feeling of pure terror. It felt like someone was standing over me. I called upon the spirits that protect me to keep me from harm and the feeling dissipated.

When I was younger I think I was a bit more vulnerable to these other entities. I recall a day I opened myself to meditation. I guess I forgot to shut myself because that night there was like... this creature. I snapped to my senses and with instinct raised raised a boundary. I saw the creature fall backwards away from me as the boundary came up. It was odd...

It was around 2003. I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I did not turn on the lights or put on my eyeglasses as I never did this. As I rounded the bed I saw out of the corner of my eye, as so many do, a figure standing silently in the corner of my bedroom just a few feet away. As I turned to encounter the being and fight, it came straight at me with such lightning speed and grabbed me around my shoulders with such strength and might that I instantly passed out from fear in the shadow's grasp. Never before or since in my life of twenty something years had I ever experienced fear so intense and horrifing that I passed out. I awoke the next day back in bed with absolutely no memory of what had transpired. It took a couple days, and at first I thought it was a dream, but slowly the details came back. My girlfriend never awoke that night and to this day she says I'm crazy. Maybe she is right, I don't know. But this I do know: it was pure evil. It was a solid being and I don't know how it got in or how it left, but it was solid and pure evil. I had no time to invoke the name of the almighty or even think for that matter. It all happened in a split second. I never saw any eyes or facial features and it looked to be wearing a hood more than a hat. It stood about my height of 5'10". I never saw it again and pray I never do.

I personally know of two diff. ppl that do not know one another who have seen this entity, the description reminds me of the voodoo god of graveyards, the baron samedie..shadpw ppl are not ghosts, they are entirely something else altogether.

I saw shawdow people. 8 stood around my bed and in the door way. They had bodies darker than the the darkness of the room. You could make out the body shape but not the face. Dont remember a top hat. I have never been so scared never forgot it never seen any again this was 40 years ago.

I also had an encounter with the shadow person known as the "hat man".

When I was 13 or so, I used to read myself to sleep every night as to not have to fall asleep in the dark. This one particular night I was doing just that when I looked up from my bed to the right of me and saw a tall dark shadow of a man wearing a tall hat, not unlike the one worn by the man in the yellow hat of "Curious George" fame. I looked away in disbelief and upon looking back up, he was gone.

My figure was a dark shadow with no apparent facial features. I remember a sense of awe more than a sense of fear, possibly because the encounter was so brief that I was able to brush it off and soon go to bed. I had always chalked it up to the imagination playing tricks in low light; that was until I was reading a blog one day about the so called “shadow people”, and learned about this "hat man".

There seems to be a large degree of universality to this character, not unlike that found with the old hag. It would be interesting to compile more anecdotal accounts of this particular shadow figure from around the globe.

this is interesting. i have had an encounter with a thing that looked like what you all describe, but it was far different. my oldest brother, my hero, passed away a year ago. he was in his early 40's. ever since then, i have had a total disregard for the value of my own life. i just don't care what happens to me. well, i woke up one night about 3:30, i have an alarm clock in my room. well, i saw this man wearing all black, with a hat and a long, long coat. he was smiling it felt like, and he seemed like he was trying to frighten me. i finally was able to move, and i remember thinking "kill me, i don't care. i am goinng back to sleep", and i flipped him the bird. and haven't had any sleep problems since. it amazes me though, because i am not at all sensitive to the supernatural.

I personally saw this entity, or whatever you call it, when I was ten. My parents and I were driving near So. Thomaston, ME and it was standing in a field near a dilapidated barn. Big hat, standing still - black figure with a cape. I could "feel" it looking at me. It was broad daylight. No one else saw it.

Later in years, a roommate in college also explained to me that when he was around the same age saw a grey Hat Man in his neighborhood near dusk. He and some friends all saw it in between the wooded lots of the houses. They ran and it chased. When he got home he ran up to his bedroom. Once he got the nerve he looked outside. The figure was standing in the street staring straight up at him under a street light. His friends said they saw it go after him as they fled.

The roommate felt a menace to it. I didn't really... just acknowledged it but didn't feel any sort of brooding.

As a child I remember my parents and sibblings often telling stories of a house we lived in that they say was "Haunted". Doors slammed, objects moved and fell, voices in rooms and laughter, footsteps etc...However none frightens me as much as my mother's "late night" encounter with a Man in black, big hat, trench coat, very tall, dark presence. He was standing over my baby bassenet, near the foot of her bed,stairing at me as I slept.I was only 2mos.old. Though she knew my Dad was working "out of town" not due home for days Mom said Dad's name anyway thinking it must be him, when the dark man looked up she realized he had no face.In fear for our lives now, she grabbed the alarm clock off the nightstand and threw it as hard as she could at him! It went right thru him as he fanished in a split seconed. The clock hit the wall with a crash! It woke my siblings who ran in to see what was the matter. No one slept that night but instead huddled togeather in the dowstairs living room waited for morning. What's wierd is that I can still see his silouette in my mind,even more I shudder to this day feeling his dark presence near me then, an infant. Theres no doubt in my mind that" this entity" has truely bad itentions for humans.

I saw this Hatman he was with another shorter, stockier man they were @ the foot of my bed surround by the brightest white calming light. I felt so calm with a warmth of a special presence.

I was then lifted up off of my bed by a very large hand this happened when I had my stroke all through out that time I was telling my wife in a calm voice everythings going to be ok. The next day my 11 yo daughter told me she was visited by 3 Angels and they told her not to worry I was going to be ok she told me this the day after my stroke. Ihad my stroke 5 months ago. I felt like I'm truly BLESSED by these special men. Now I'm back to work and supporting my family...May GOD Bless you all Like he has BLESSED me.EDWIN

I'm 35 now but when I was in my mid teens I remember a visit from what appears to be the same 'hat man' that you are all referring to. He was basically a solid 3D black silhouette of a man - darker than the darkness surrounding him. He was tall, had a top hat on and a cape and although he had no discernible face I could tell he was watching me. I was woken up in the middle of the night - completely awake - to find him watching over me at the end of my bed. He didn't move, he didn't say anything. I was totally paralysed with fear and I couldn't even scream. All I could do was 'shrug' my face under my bed-covers in a stupid attempt to hide from him. I hadn't looked at him long before doing this (too terrified) so I didn't really get a chance to watch him back. After about 20 minutes of totally freaking out under my bedcovers, a strength came over me to emerge and reach out to turn my bedlight on. I did this in one foul swoop. He was gone - no sign of him. I looked in every nook and cranny of my room because I was still too frightened to go back to bed with the thought he was still around. I remember my initial thought was that there was a human intruder in my room and he was going to hurt me but then I quickly realised he wasn't of this world. There was an overwhelming sense of danger about him, which is what caused me to become paralysed with fear. Anyway, I haven't ever seen him since. I should mention the house I lived in was NOT old - my father had built it new on bushland, so it couldn't have been haunted. It was in Perth, Western Australia. I have no idea what the thing was but it has never left my mind and I have always wondered who it was, what he was doing, and why he was doing it. I also fear one day he might re-visit. I hope not. I do believe though, that if you open yourself up to darkness, you will be visited by evil. I was stupid back then like many teenagers and was getting into dark things, reading a lot of Anne Rice, doing tarot card reading, oejee (?sp) boards etc.... I am not religious and haven't been christened - not sure if that had an effect on the visit too.

I just remember sitting on my pc like any other day doing my thing then i just feel this overwhelming feeling of like peircing through my back and straight up i know im being watched through the curtain behind me, i pause for a second and think then i get up and jump next to the curtain and pause again and thoughts go through my mind like whats it want and why isnt it doing anything and im thinking should i look or just leave it alone and then i get all this feeling of power like another part of me takes over and i just rip the curtain open and jump through the glass door ready to do something to it and i just see a tall dark figure in a black trench coat or something shoot up into the sky right in front of me im watching it just float up into the sky and out of sight and i get this sickly deathly feeling like ive never felt before like i was going to be killed or something

Interesting stuff!I had an experience about 2 years ago with "Hat Man". Recently my Brother told me of a "Shadow Person" that ran towards him and he was too scared 2 scream when he was at a friends house back when he was on drugs, he told the friend and she said she had seen this "Shadow" a lot.I relayed this story to my boyfriend who had a similair story, but he was "educated" (?) with the terms of "Shadow People" and "Hat Man" because of his expeinced and his sisters and friends experiences.Well...while he was telling me this I realized that I had an evening with "Hat Man" myself! I thought what I saw was my grandpa and brother that had passed because the tall, lean siloqeutte with a hat and jacket looked like my grandpa and the other shadow looked like the size of a little boy that came running out from behind the tall hatted man. The Hat Man was in the doorway of my room and the smaller shadow ran out from behind the tall hatted man into the room. My boyfriend asked if I was comforted or scared when this happened...I told him I was scared and started screaming. When someone came to my room and they turned on the light they were gone. So...I now know this wasnt my grandpa and brother, why would they scare me like that? It was "Hat Man"...and for some reason he felt he needed to come to me and drop off one of his shadow people. This was a VERY bad time of my life. My friend had just commited suicide and I was very depressed. I havent seen any Shadowed Figures since...but something is messing with me and my boyfriend at his house. Also, for the last 8 months I have had terrible nightmares, nightly...that wake me up because I am screaming out loud.Has anyone had the Hat man drop off a Shadow man?

and to KaysCourage yes he has and when the lights came on it scared him off mabey he was trying to protect you from something else in the house that make the nightmares Im not trying to say your wrong but mabey the hat man is good but the others arent except a few he has found and the other evil one make him out to be bad.

Shadow people do sound creepy, I have seen them before. But they don't seem to hurt us. People do get scared seeing them, but that's only because we don't know what they are...yet.Don't think they are something evil, all they do is observe.It is still a mystery. Not one knows what they actually are.

The hat man is something very popular, people all over has seen him. I haven't seen him yet, but you never know, maybe I will...i just hope I don't get too scared.

About a year ago, I awoke in the middle of the night to see him standing at the foot of my bed. He was watching me sleep. His mood seemed somber and introspective.

I awoke with abruptly and sat up aggressively staring right at him, as if a (psychic?) alarm had notified me of his presence. This seemed to startle him and he quickly disappeared. I also shouted at him and threw something where he was standing.

He was a shadow, darker than the darkness of the room. He was large and round and wearing a cloak. He had a distinctive hat. In another post it was described appropriately as "the spy vs spy hat" (a popular Cuban cartoon). It appeared to be a wide brimmed Spanish style sombrero, distinct form the touristy Mexican sombrero. These hats and cloaks were commonly worn throughout Latin America and the American Southwest by rancheros as protection from the wind, sun, rain and the dusty trail. They were common among Californios into the mid 1800s.

Interestingly enough, this shadow imagery is nicely portrayed in the 2006 movie "V is for Vendetta" and the 1994 movie appropriately entitled "The Shadow".

The next morning, I drew a picture of the shade to my soon-to-be wife. She confirmed that she had seen the same specter on numerous occasions growing up as a child near El Paso Texas. He would be standing in doorways and on the tops of stairways, again just watching. On one occasion he chased her sister, causing her to fall off of her bike. I had seen him in Los Angeles where I live.

I have noticed that he is often seen in Texas and California.

My feeling is that this is a genre of semi-malefic ancestor spirit, that follows and watches the ever increasing expansions of his one-time family. He takes special interest in new additions to the family, such as children (and maybe husbands to be. The varieties of hats such as: wide brimmed flat topped Spanish sombreros, derby's, and top hats, reflect the differences in family back ground. This genre of specter may have originated in the 1800s.

In the middle of the night, one year ago, I sat up wide awake to see him standing at the foot of my bed. He was watching me sleep in a somber and introspective mood. He seemed startled by my abrupt awakening quickly disappeared. I had also shouted and thrown a pillow at him.

He was a silhouette, darker than the darkness of the room. He was a large man wearing a cloak and a distinctive hat.

In a previous post it was appropriately described as a " Spy vs Spy hat”. It appears to be a wide brimmed flat topped Spanish style sombrero. These hats and cloaks were commonly worn throughout Spain, Latin America and the American Southwest by rancheros as protection from the wind, sun, rain and the dusty trail until the mid-1800’s.

Interestingly enough, this shadow imagery is nicely portrayed in the 2006 movie "V is for Vendetta" and the 1994 movie appropriately entitled "The Shadow".

The next morning, I drew a picture of the shade for my soon-to-be wife. She confirmed that she had seen the same specter on numerous occasions growing up as a child near El Paso Texas. He would be standing in doorways and on the tops of stairways, just watching. On one occasion he chased her sister, causing her to fall off of her bike.

I had seen him in Los Angeles and have noticed that he is often seen in Texas and California.

My feeling is that this is a genre of semi-malefic ancestor spirit, who follows and watches the ever increasing generations of his one-time family. He takes special interest in new additions to the family, such as children (and husbands to be). The varieties of hats reflect the differences in family back ground. This genre of specter may have originated in the 1800s as indicated by the style of dress.

When I was a teenager, I was going through a lot of stuff. I was self harming, and suicide plagued my mind as well as attempting it several times. The Hat Man practically stayed with me 24/7. As I read all these posts, people say they've only seen him once. Whereas I saw him on a daily basis, for close to two years. He would just pace behind me, or stand watching me. I never felt scared or like he was out to harm me. There was no fear at all about him. I've always been in tune with the paranormal though, more so now. My friend on the other hand saw him tonight as a matter of fact and he had similar reactions as the majority of the people leaving comments. Anyways, I just find it odd that he never invoked fear into me.

I recall the hat man ... I saw him several times coming into my room when I was a kid (8-10yrs old); he had a top hat, a large coat and he walked with a victorian-style cane. I had a dog and it would sleep in my room; when the hat man showed up, my dog would start barking. It was a strange situation but...alas, never saw him again.

I recall the hat man ... I saw him several times coming into my room when I was a kid (8-10yrs old); he had a top hat, a large coat and he walked with a victorian-style cane. I had a dog and it would sleep in my room; when the hat man showed up, my dog would start barking. It was a strange situation but...alas, never saw him again.

I have played the ouija board but on a piece of binder paper and it really works!!!!and ever since then I will not touch or make another one again....I had to go to church to sleep again. I had so much fear...I have also seen the dark shadow at the end of my bed... I believe

I've seen him twice. Once near Flower Mound, Texas... ...Once near Miami, Ok. The first time I was alone, the second I was in a car with 3 other people. The first instant doesn't matter as there are no witnesses, the second time we were on a no-where dirt road, he was standing just off to the side as we passed him. He had a dramitic effect on both the people in the back seat, the girl started crying almost immediately and the guy next to her started panicking wanting us to get away from the area. I wanted to go back and figure out what the hell it was (I panicked the first time and truely wanted to justify what I originally saw). The driver didn't see him. So he was willing to reverse and look. The figure was gone (at this point my resolve was rapidly fading so I joined the two in back and vied for leaving quickly). I never saw its face.About 5 years later, I had a few friends over... ...this time in Edmond, Ok, around 1 am in the morning, one of my friends (a guy I'd known for about 3 years) was standing in my living room staring out the back window. He looked rather out of sorts so I asked him what's up. He gave a start and said there's a man out-side my window... ...I looked but didn't see anything. He described the figure in detail, rapidly losing his composure as he did. He described the figure I have seen twice to a tee: A large siloette of a man easily over 6 ft apparetly in a full length trench coat with a fedora-like hat on. A pitch-black figure that seemed to terrify him for no reason. This was 14 years ago (as of 2011). I haven't seen or heard anything about the figure since... ...but I'm glad to have found this site and know I'm not alone in this experience.

My name is Larry, I live in El Paso Tx and I am 21 yrs old. I had an experience with what i think was the "Hat Man". I saw the "Hat Man" when i was about ten yrs old, I remember I was doing something like playing a video game that night. Then my dad called my name and said "Hey Larry help me take this huge bag of soda cans to the back yard" I was really mad and bummed out that i had to help him with this. So anyways He walked out the front door and headed to the backyard; he went through the left side of the house. I was mad at him at the time so I decided to go through the right side of the house. So I was walking through the darkness and From a distance I see A little back figure with a round hat and what seemed like a little round flat top, on top of the hat. Well the little back figure seemed to be going through the soda cans..(Keep in mind i was really mad at my dad for making me take these stupid a** cans outside so late.) At first i thought it was a dog or something, so i got even closer to where this figure was about maybe 8 feet in-front of me and I yelled out "Hey what the F**k, Get outta here" and then It Looked RIGHT AT ME! I was in shock! I opened wide and my eyes got huge and i pulled my head back as i was in shock...I dropped the huge a** bag and yelled out DADD!!..and as soon as i did that the "Hat Man" took off running with two feet but it was tipping sideways as it was running( I also noticed it was wearing a little trench coat as big as he was)...so as it ran away from me i ran away from it but still looking at the figure so that i could see if it was chasing me...i then realized it was running away from me so i kinda stopped and then this little back figure about 3ft tall freakeshly hover jumped and landed perfectly on a wall that was about 9ft tall and leaded to the ditch. And as it jumped and landed on the wall it turned its head left and looked right at me. As soon as it did that I took off like a lightning bolt screaming and crying and still looking at the figure and as i made it to the front of the house turning left i ran right into my dad...like completely crashed into his genital area. I explained what i saw and we both went looking for this figure over the wall and into the ditch but we found nothing. I will NEVER FORGET what i saw that night. This WAS REAL! Its the only actual Real straight up paranormal thing that ever happened to me.

If those beings spread fear then it's obviously they feed from fear, realise that they feed on pointless ways, so laugh at their faces and invoke all the love you can, say Gods and Christs name, Those names are based on positivity, and positivity ends negativity. Instead of screaming or running away, ask to them if they want a couple of tea. I promise you they will suprised by your reaction. They are programmed to feed from fear, so, don't feal fear, instead of fear laugh like a troll in front of them. Peace.

Personally I have never seen him, but every who has ever lived in my apt. has. Mostly in the room I currently have. Most of us had forgotten abt the previous occurrences until early this morning. My mom wakes up around 3:30am for work lets my dog out to do her business and roam around. around 4am my dog starts going crazy barking super loud. My mom runs to the front door, opens it and sees a man in a long black trench coat with a hat walking in our complex and says she could not move because she realized this was the man she has seen in our apartment and in her dreams. My brother was also woken up from my dog and mom and also saw him as he walked through the complex staring them both down. He continued to walk out the complex and into the ally behind the complex still staring at them. Its really scary and my family and I don't know what to make of these occurrences.

Hello my name is cheyenne and ive experenced the 'hatman' over 50 times almost everyday sence I was maby 6 years old and im 18 now. He manufests as a tall man in a trench coat with a what I would call a "zorro" hat. (A long billed top hat) with no face. Normally semi-transparent but all black. Ive talked to other people about him and they with out me saying anything described him as being next to me. In all of my pictures hes thair as an odd shadow

I'm not sure how old this blog is... and the only reason i'm on this site is because this is the first time i've actually googled an experience i had when i was 8 years old. I typed in shadow man derby hat, because I had never heard the term "hat man" before. But after reading through these comments, several of them seemed to share the exact same experience as me. What happened to me was this, I was 8 years old and sleeping on the bottom bunk, and my brother on the top bunk. I awoke in the middle of the night, (not sure what time it was) The bedroom was small, the beds were pushed up against the wall at the left, and top sides of the bed, leaving the foot, and right side of the bed open to the room, to my right was our doorway. When I awoke in the middle of the night, standing in the doorway was what looked to be a black silhouette of a man, roughly 6ft tall. (The image of this "person" is burned into my mind so i vividly remember what it looked like) What i could make out was that he was wearing a derby hat, and trenchcoat. Being young, and maybe a little too naive, I assumed that it was my dad. So after about 5 seconds of looking and processing what i was looking at, I said, "Dad?" and rolled out of bed and started approaching it with an outstretched hand. I did this in such a quick manner, that the "person" appeared to jump in shock, and it turned away and walked very fast in to my sisters' room a few feet away, i followed it and turned on the light, only to see that no one was in there. My sisters were spending the night with my grandma at the time. At that point I became terrified, and ran into my parents bedroom screaming and crying, only to find that my brother had already beaten me in there. He had awoken at the same time i had, had seen the "person" and witnessed from the top bunk me trying to talk/touch this thing. I tell this story periodically to friends/acquaintances and had never heard anyone that had experienced anything similar, until stumbling upon this site. Whatever the "hat man" is, it didn't cause me to feel fear, until it vanished. Looking back I almost felt like it was a guardian angel or something of the sort. Anyway that's what i have to contribute to the conversation.

I have just about the same story when I was 4 I went up into my room and I seen the man and my dad heard me talkin and As doin As my dad came in the man dissapeared and I was mad at my dad for coming in cause I was talkin to him for about Ten minutes and I told my dad that he made him run my dad said who did I make run then I said the maybe with no face then about 6 years later the same exact thing happend to my sister and we got scared so now I'm 14 and icw been reaearching it cause I can still see the picture of him with His black hat and long trench coat

A bloke at work recently was recounting an incident about one of his golfing partners who was watching tv. When this 8ft tall apparition wearing a trenchcoat and top hat went straight though his tv and up the staircase. He was frozen with fear for about 5mins before he was capable of moving. Apparently there was a lot of strange stuff going on leading up to this. Lights being tuned on, unexplained banging sounds. This interested me so i did some reasearch on this "Hatman" and have since realised that this ....thing is a common occurence.

Ever since I was a kid I've seen various "paranormal entities". The most reoccurring one probably being the Hat Man.

He was always in the same place. It was an old house with an open space set up. So from our living room you could see directly into the dining room and "stair" room. (empty room which leads to front porch and the upstairs stairwell) And the stairs are an L shape and he would hang out at the halfway landing. A tall all black man in a trench coat and a hat. Not just black but a pitch black that was much deeper black in color than the shadows around it. Sometimes he would just peek around the corner or stand there. But when I'd look directly he'd disappear. I thought it was just my imagination running wild and always dismissed it. Until he started walking down the stairs. That is when I asked my brother if he's ever seen anything on the stairs and he told me he seen the same guy! (without me saying anything about him he described him AND his behavior which matched my own) He didn't see him as often as I did. He would walk down to the third step, stop, stare, and disappear. One time (and possibly the last) he walked ALL THE WAY DOWN the stairs. I could tell he was being direct so i looked directly at him for at least 2 min solid. I can't recall ever feeling pure evil but sometimes he did feel ominous. Usually just felt he observed. He was not a shadow but an solid being usually. I was a teenager at the time and havent seen him since then. I remember no deaths that happened around that time. Still have no idea what he wanted.

I have seen many different types of entities growing up. One being the "Hat Man" many times. I never recalled anyone dying after I seen him and usually never felt he was anything other than an observer. Though there were a few times he felt ominous, one time like pure evil. He would always appear in the same place and as time went on he got more bold. (but the pattern and visual was always the same) He was a tall/large man in a hat and trench coat that was a darkness so black it seemed to suck in light and was darker than the shadows that it was in. He started out just peeking around the corner but eventually would stand on the landing to the turning point of the stairs (for the second story of our house which you could see from the living room. old style house with open room/living style)I never said anything thinking it was just my imagination and i was seeing things until he stepped out one day and i seen him more directly outside of the shadows from the walls of the stair. Thats when i asked my brother if he's ever seen anything about the stairs and he said YES. He then described the same thing i seen and told me he had the same behavior! He then got more bold from there. Now he would start out on the stairs sometimes walking down but he never went past the 3rd step. Sometimes he'd stop, other times he'd disappear as he'd step on it. I seen him in an abandoned shed one day walking home at night from a friends house. He stepped out from the shadow and into the "light" and felt very ominous. Then one day i seen him and he walked all the way down the stairs. I could tell that he was being direct and WANTED to be noticed this time so I turned and looked directly at him. He had to have stood there for 2-3 solid minutes. I dont recall seeing him since then. Accept possibly a dream where a shadow man tried killing me. (he felt similar but i dont recall him wearing a hat) EVERY time i seen him (sometimes during the day) I was fully awake. So it wasnt a dream.

I saw him when I was about 5 or 6. I woke up on the top of my bunk-bed and had this urge to use the bathroom, when I looked to my left he was there. Not even 5 feet away. He had a greyish face with a creepy smile I will never forget. I screamed and my father came running down to my side of the trailer. As my father was running the "Hat Man" slowly pulled out what I saw was a nice then looked at the hall light that just turned on do to my father and right before my father turned on my light he looked at me and smiled. I will never forget that smile. I've been searching for him ever since. I have encounter many "Creatures/Ghosts" But never this frightning. I will continue to search no matter what.

When I was pregnant, I had a dream that I was talking with my Mother and Grandmother about the "Bad man with the hat". I told my Mum about it the next day, and she went white and said that when I was little, I talked about the Bad man with the hat all the time. I also talked of the Shadow People and how the would come out of no where and give me a fright. I still see Shadow People today but have not seen the Bad man with the hat again. I was shocked to find this and find that a lot of different people have had similar experiences to what I had when I was a very young girl.

I have had this "hat man" come to me in my sleep. i would wake up partially and i was paralyzed and i couldnt move or speak. this man was standing at my doorway but i could not see his face even though i tried really hard to. He was about the size of the door and he had on a trench coat. He was also wearing a hat which gives me the chills becuase he is being described here. when i saw him i lunged toward him but it wasnt my body i was paralyzed! maybe my spririt? i cant explain that but he overpowered me. Now my daughter is seeing dark figures around the house and she says they speak to her. this is not a bs story i wouldnt lie. im from El Paso Texas

I had seen the shadow man with the sombrero hat and trench coat three times.Each time i woke up knowing he was staring at me.he had no face as if it was covered with a black cloth one time he was right in my face looking side to side like he was studying me.Id first seen him when i met my husband and my husband saw him too we moved the next day.Saw him twice after that i thought it was the angel of death as I had gotten very sick and ended up having a liver transplant.but before my transplant i had maybe two weeks to live and was good with god and at peace and the hat man never showed up so it wasnt the angel of death.And since my transplant ive never seen him again and i pray to god i never see him again

Until tonight I thought it was just me and one other person that had seen him/...it.

Every story I've read so far makes him out to be creepy. To be honest besides the pins and needles that wash over me whenever I see him I also feel a sense of calm...I feel safe.

I haven't seen him in 5 years but I can feel him him as I write this. I've had four encounters with him but my first was my most memorable. I was 6 years old and with my mum. I saw a man or what seemed like a man in front of me. I saw black boots, a long dark trench coat and a hat. I couldn't see his face but felt him watching me. I asked my mum who the man was that was standing between us and if he was a friend. She replied, "What man?" I still remember his image, my mum's face and the setting of the kitchen around me.

The second time was many years later near the end of primary school. It was a different house and I was playing cricket with my brother. When we finished I packed and followed my brother into the house. As I stepped on the porch I felt the pins and needles on my back side to the left. I looked over my left shoulder and saw the dark man standing at the end of my driveway. He stared at me and I at him for a few moments before I smiled back and walked into the house.

My third encounter I was about 20 years old. I had moved out of home and recently moved into a share house. I got the front left room of the house and had spent the entire moving all my belongings into the house. After finishing the unpacking I struck up a conversation with my new room mate with in the front door way arch. As we spoke I the pins and needles started and I noticed black boots on the door mat and traced them up to a dark man with a hat standing in front of me. I still couldn't see his face. I asked my new room mate if the house was haunted, and he replied only my room. I loved that room.

The fourth encounter wasn't mine as such. I was eating dinner with a friend's family when I felt that familiar prickle feeling. It was at that moment my friends mum screamed and ran out of the house. When we calmed her down she told us she had seen a dark man wearing a black trench coat and a hat standing behind my left shoulder at the the dinner table. I smiled as she confirmed I never just imagined him. When I asked her to describe his face she could only tell he had black skin, and that was all.

It's been a while since I've seen him. I miss him to be honest and look forward to our next encounter. He's not as bad as you all have described. He's just the dark man in the dark hat, and that is all.

I was in my early 20's when the hat man visited me. I awoke in the middle of the night because it felt like my night stand was shaking. When I looked up I saw him standing at the foot of my bed staring at me. He was tall and made of a dark fog and was wearing an extra-tall Abraham Lincoln looking hat. My body froze up with every hair on my body standing straight up. By the time I blinked he was gone. I have tried to tell myself that maybe it was all a dream all these years. I'm almost 40 now and find it pretty scary that so many others have been visited by this ghost or whatever it is. What does it mean and what does he want? Looking back I realize my life really took a turn for the worse after I saw him.

okay wow... this was weird to read about this.. since when i was around 23 I was on my bed fully awake. I felt somebody grapping my shoulder and turning me with force. I faced the room where he was standing there. long coat and that hat covering his face all in black. just standing and staring at me. I looked him for a good while since I didnt want to take my eyes off him or more i couldn´t. After a while I stood up from my bed and he was gone.

Next thing I did i went to my friend next door and said "im not going to go my apartment today. Im gonna sleep in your sofa. So my neighbour´s lady described that hat man to me how he looked and asked if I saw him. I was like "omg... that was him allright..."

After that experience i have heard (in these 3 years) crying and laughing and some words whisperings. They are so silent that I cant hear what they say but I still can hear them.

Also I have experienced somebody grapping my shoulder 2 more times. one time was when i went to army and was exhausted and fell asleep in the forest. I was woken up by that left shoulder shaking. Also one extra time was which saved me from getting hit by a car. Really strong touch so you can really feel somebody touching you.

About Me

Jason Offutt is a syndicated columnist, author, college journalism instructor, and fan of all things strange. His books include the novel, "A Funeral Story," the parody survival book, "How to Kill Monsters Using Common Household Items," the humorous travelogue, "Across a Corn-Swept Land," and four books about the paranormal, "Paranormal Missouri: Show Me Your Monsters," "What Lurks Beyond: The Paranormal In Your Backyard," "Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us," and “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri's Most Spirited Spots.” All are available at www.amazon.com.
Jason is available for interviews, speaking engagements and beer festivals. E-mail all serious inquiries to: sjasonoffutt@gmail.com.